In recent years shaving razors with various numbers of blades have been proposed in the patent literature and commercialized such as the three-bladed Mach 3™ razor and the five bladed Fusion™ razor by The Gillette Company.
Increasing the number of blades on a shaving razor generally tends to increase the shaving efficiency of the razor and provide better distribution of compressive forces on the skin but it can also tend to increase drag forces, reduce maneuverability, and reduce the ability to trim, e.g., sideburns or near the nose. To solve this problem an extra blade can be mounted at the rear of the razor housing for trimming.
Short hairs are typical of hair growth of approximately twenty-four hours. The edge of a trimming blade on the razor is able to cut the short hair at an optimum angle if the blade unit is oriented at the appropriate cutting angle during use. However, it is unlikely that a user has any knowledge that the trimmer unit has been designed with an optimum cutting angle in mind. What's more, even if they where aware, it would be difficult if not impossible to position the razor so that the trimmer blade is oriented in the optimum cutting angle. As a result, not all consumers are getting the best results from their trimmer.
It is therefore desirable to provide a trimming element that presents the blade to the skin and maintains an optimum cutting angle during use to maximize efficiency.